Page:The Canal System of England.djvu/27

 The present condition of the inland navigations of Great Britain is, however, deplorable. The introduction of the railway system produced a moribund condition of affairs on canals from which they have not yet recovered, and in addition to 415 miles which are derelict, abandoned, or converted into railways—no less than 1264 miles, or one-third of the total mileage, is under railway administration.

The position of these railway-owned Canals is frequently a source of great difficulty to the trader, for in many cases they form links on through-routes and often have such high rates of toll that the traffic on the through-route is blocked by their charges. The manner in which through-routes are broken up by Railway-owned waterways is well shewn in an excellent map of the Canals and Navigable Rivers of England and Wales, prepared by Mr. Lionel B. Wells, M. Inst. C.E. But the question of the position of railway-owned Canals is of such importance that a special portion of this work is devoted to its fuller consideration.

V.—

The Canals of England and Wales have been most conveniently classified by Mr. Wells in six groups, five of which are connected with the estuaries of the Mersey, Thames, Humber, Wash and Severn, while the sixth centres around Birmingham.